North Jersey residents made the trek down the coastline to Florida to help animals in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

The Tenafly animal rescue group Pet ResQ organized a supply run that left Ringwood on Friday to head to Fort Myers, Fla. Three trucks with four people departed on the 18-hour drive with water, dog food, zip ties and bungee cords as well as diapers, clothes and baby wipes for the people in the area.

“The reality is Mother Nature has really thrown a wrench into everybody’s lives so gratefully we all kind of work together,” Pet ResQ founder Robyn Urman said, “and Florida is a lot worse than anybody knows or wants to admit to. Those people are tired and it’s been hard.”

Irma brought devastating wind, rain and storm surge to parts of Florida and the Caribbean, where it killed dozens. It started as a category five storm in the Atlantic, passed over the Caribbean and near Cuba before making landfall in the Keys and on the Florida peninsula Sunday.

Eric Maak, a Lyndhurst native, drove to Florida as well with his own set of supplies for animals. Maak’s friend Leo Thomas brought the supplies from Lyndhurst to Philadelphia before the departure.

Maak drove down with blankets, yoga mats, collapsible crates, 600 pounds of food, and food for people too. The Secaucus Animal Shelter donated the crates, valued at hundreds of dollars.

Dogs and supplies are secured in Ringwood before a trip to Florida to help out after Hurricane Irma on Sept. 15, 2017.(Photo: Courtesy of Robyn Urman)

“When these things happen, the animals get resources last,” Maak said. “I’m sure others like me will be helping. Animals are always last and [it’s] never enough.”

The Lyndhurst native said he became involved with animal rescue around 17 years ago through a friend’s mother. He felt a special connection to helping pit bulls because of the “lies out there about them.”

Maak arrived in Jacksonville before heading to Miami. He found 20 dogs in a shelter because of the storm and the facility had no power when he got there on Thursday. He took 14 of the dogs to Orlando on Friday.